The present disclosure is directed to a single package air conditioning system. It is a device which is readily manufactured and shipped in a single upright box. In the field where it is installed, it is easily installed and with great facility and service. The advent of this apparatus overcomes several problems that relate to installation. The system can provide complete climate control in a typical hotel room or multi-room applications, but it is far more versatile than that. It is versatile in the sense that a single unit can be installed adjacent to an outer wall of a building and yet have ducts directed to various rooms of the interior of the building. This unit has the versatility and convenience of a thru-the-wall packaged terminal air conditioner (PTAC) or room air product, while providing the function of unitary or split system air conditioners.
Extensive hollow duct work is not necessarily needed. Rather, the unit provides a relatively slim profile which enables it to be recessed in the back corner of a closet, or at the intersection of two rooms with an outer wall. By installing in this manner, it permits a single unit to accommodate a variety of floor plans. Moreover, it enables air conditioning capacity to be brought to a two or three room hotel or apartment, rest home for the elderly requiring assisted care, and a number of other circumstances. In that sense, it functions much more like a central air conditioning system without the difficulties of installation of that device. A central air conditioning system comprises two sets of equipment. One is installed inside the apartment, house, or other conditioned area. The other set of equipment is typically located outside the building. The two sets of equipment require the condenser and evaporator to be spaced far apart, thereby requiring a line set between the two to provide a closed cycle refrigerant flow system. It is not so with the present equipment.
This device has an evaporator and condenser which are installed in a single cabinet. While single cabinet air conditioners have been done here before, most often they have the shape of a window unit. Window units have been designed to simply fit into a wall or window opening. Heat is rejected by the unit through the back end which hangs out in space through the wall. This unit comprises a plenum extending from the unit to the exterior through the outside wall. The plenum however is telescoping. This device sets forth a telescoping plenum scheme allows the system to be uniformly manufactured and yet can be installed in a large variety of openings through the outside wall.
This unit comprises a system which can be demounted from a simple shipping carton and installed in a variety of locations. In a northern climate, it may be installed in a wall which is quite thick. Consider as an example a framed wall of 2.times.4 construction having an inside layer of sheet rock and outside layer of sheet plywood, and then a layer of bricks. Ultimately, that forms a wall of substantial thickness, ranging to about ten inches in thickness. In southern climates, the wall may not be that thick, and may be only half that thickness. Again, the wall might be constructed with sheet rock and some kind of thermal barrier on the exterior. In that instance, the wall might be only half the thickness. Rather than require a different model, the device of the present disclosure accommodates that problem. Rather than require hand-crafted construction of duct work, the present apparatus enables construction of a vent opening through which rejected heat is expelled. The rejected heat is blown out through the opening utilizing a telescoping plenum.
Window air conditioning units form condensate, which condensate normally drips from the back end of the unit on the outside of the building when the window air conditioner is operating. Two component systems (referring to separately located condenser and evaporator units) condense humidity from the air thereby creating collecting condensate in a drain pan. In more elaborate installations, the drain pan may be constructed with a drain tube extending from the drain pan to a drain line. The drain pan always creates a risk of water damage. As long as the passages are clear, the drain pan can collect water on a daily basis and deliver it out of the drain pan. That delivery route is normally through the drain line, pipe, hose, or other facility to get the water away from the drain pan. Assuming the drain line does not become plugged, this works quite well by gravity flow.
Trash and debris in the air may accumulate and create a sticky mess on the drain pan and may plug the openings. When that occurs, the drain pan may plug, thereby causing it to overflow, which may cause structural damage when the overflowing water flows under the framing or into the carpeted area. By contrast, this system incorporates a drain pan which contains the cold condensate water. It is allowed to accumulate to a specified level from which it is picked up by the propeller fan and splashed on the outdoor coil rejecting heat in the air conditioning cycle. When that occurs, the water is put to great use because the heat required to evaporate the water in turn keeps the condenser coil cooler, thereby enhancing heat rejection. Moreover, when water rises to that level, this drain pan incorporates an integrated structure which enables disposal of water overflow. That arrangement enables easy installation without requiring customized plumbing or tubing. While in one situation devices to the prior art might require only a 10 inch connection, just as readily another installation might need a 40 foot connection to the sanitation sewer line. That can easily add the requirement of specialized personnel (usually plumbers) and difficult connections into the sanitation sewer. That may also require added building permits to make added connection to the sewer system. All of this is avoided by the single package air conditioning system of the present disclosure.
This equipment allows the delivery of chilled air to the left or right or in both directions. Therefore, delivery may be the rooms where located or remotely into two separate rooms. It is also possible for the system to circulate and mix fresh air from the outside with the inside air to assure that the atmosphere does not become stale or stagnant.
Many advantages will be seen in the present equipment. One advantage worth noting is that the installed equipment is provided with appropriate shock absorbers. This equipment includes a hermetic compressor and single fan motor. In addition to the compressor, there is a separate fan motor. The fan motor drives a blower and an outdoor fan, thereby adding two pieces of rotating equipment. The rotating equipment creates vibration. The present system incorporates a set of rubber shock absorbing mounts underneath. The compressor has a separate set of rubber shock absorbers underneath the compressor. There is a problem, however, with simply furnishing the equipment on rubber mounts. These mounts have to be appropriately stabilized. This stabilization is all together different when the equipment is in the shipping carton. The rubber mounts sometimes get in the way at the time of installation. It is difficult to slide a large chassis like this into a confined place, skidding on shock absorbing feed underneath. This system includes a clip which enables the rubber feet to be stabilized so that they are vertically aligned. The rubber mounts function as isolators and establish a central or neutral position of the equipment in the off condition. The isolators bear the entire weight of the unit with no direct attachment to the building. Thereafter, when vibrations occur during operations, the range of excursion as a result of any vibration is minimal within the confined space. Installation is thereby more readily accomplished, and subsequent operation is less affected by inappropriate installation, i.e., the rubber isolators are mounted under the left and the right. In summary, the installation is achieved so that the vibration is confined in the cabinet and is not felt in the surrounding structure.
The present invention is summarized as a system in which the entire air conditioning unit is simply lifted out of a shipping carton and installed. The entire system has a quick disconnect harness, power cord that is easily disconnected and a duct that lends itself to a quick disconnect. Likewise, when a unit requires service, the unit can be easily replaced with a like unit without interrupting the comfort of the occupants. Various aspects of installation are made much more readily. Adaptability to the local architecture is particularly enhanced. By locating this equipment at the conjunction of an inside wall with the outside wall, the heat can be rejected to the exterior through a louvered opening while fresh air can be introduced into adjacent rooms. The entire system can be located in a closet, except for ducts to other rooms. Without regard to the thickness to the walls, adjustments can be made at the time of installation to assure that the equipment is on the inside of the building and yet venting to the exterior through the louvered opening is permitted. Finally, this system is installed for easy operation from a central location by means of a remote thermostat. Contrary to the circumstance of most thru-the-wall air conditioning units, air conditioning control for the equipment is made at a desired central location. In effect, remote installation of the thermostat results in more stable and satisfying operation.